EUVC Summit 2025 | Shapers VC Is Built for This | Newcomer of the Year

0:00Venture is built on fresh ideas, bold bets, and the relentless pursuit of the next big thing. But breaking into this industry isn't for the faint of heart. The true newcomers, the ones rewriting the rules, don't just launch funds, they create movements. This award honors the funds that have had their first close in the past year and have already made waves, bringing fresh innovation, ambition, and a new energy to European venture capital. They've defied the odds, built momentum, and set the foundation for something much bigger. These are the funds to watch. Varsity, Rerail, Expansion VC, Shapers.

0:46A new era of venture starts here, but only one will take the title. I particularly like this award because this award celebrates Fresh Force. The Newcomer of the Year Award recognized basically an emerging manager, a venture firm that has made a significant mark in its first year of existence. So we were looking for a fund that has shown obviously exceptional promise, but not just in performance, but also in perspective. Specifically, we considered three criteria. Number one, portfolio quality. Are they backing bold founders that want to disrupt the status quo, building very differentiated businesses?

1:40Number two, signal and strategy. Are they carving out a clear identity in what we've known to be a very, very crowded ecosystem? And number three, community and conviction. Are they contributing to the broader ecosystem? In what ways? How does it matter? Being new is not easy. So this award goes to a team that is making it look easy and that is built for this. Before I announce the award, I'd love to welcome Greg Brown, our sponsor on stage, who will say a few words. And I'll be right with you.

2:25Thank you, guys. So this one is really special. You know, at HSBC Innovation Banking, we know that a great legacy has a bold, bold beginning. And we see this every day with the next generation of investors that we work with, those that are shaping fresh franchises. They are maybe writing some of the first checks and even rewriting the rules of early stage venture. And so that's why we're really proud to support this award today, because not only does it reflect the courage needed in order to take that leap and actually launch a firm, but also reflects the clarity required in order to stand out from the crowd, as well as the real conviction needed in order to build something that really lasts.

3:20And so we're really proud to support the Newcomer of the Year Award and to really champion those that are writing the next chapter of European VC. Thank you, Greg. So the Newcomer of the Year goes to Shapers VC.

3:57I'm happy to. Does this work? Is it working? Yeah. So thanks so much. I have to say, like, I haven't won an award probably since I'm, like, 18 or something and I used to play tennis. I did not prepare for this. But thank you very much. My name is Phil. I'm one of the co-founders of Shapers alongside my brother Thomas, which we started last year. We're an early stage fintech focused fund backed mostly by strategic LPs. Over 60 fintech founders and operators, like you talk about communities, really, really important for us. A lot of banks and more traditional LPs. It probably feels weird to have like a newcomer in fintech 10 years after the trend started.

4:39but when everyone else left the party, that's when we felt like it was a good timing to come back. And it probably feels even weirder to receive an award when we just got started and it's all about returns as we were talking in the panel before. But thank you so much for the trust recognition and also for putting a spotlight on emerging managers because I do agree with the previous panel that this is sort of like a great way to actually go about the ecosystem and there's a lot of great individuals that are right now, some of them in the room actually striking on their own. So thanks for recognizing the emerging managers.

5:16Before you go, I just want to give a massive shout out to the partners who made the EUVC Summit and awards possible. So please do not tune out. We're partnering with these firms because they're great people with offerings that we know from our friends in the ecosystem are truly world-class. First up, I want to give a big thanks to HSBC Innovation Banking. They helped us incept the awards in the very beginning. And truly, they are the leading bank for anyone in European venture. There's a reason why everyone knows them. Google Cloud, they were our venue hosted the summit. What a team, what a big effort they put on to help us.

5:52We're hugely grateful. Make sure to reach out to Arabella or Oksana at the Google Cloud team to hear how they can help you as well as your portfolio. Massive credits goes to them. Ace Alternatives. We have so many friends in the Berlin ecosystem partnered with these guys. Just the best fund ops team around. And as with any good restaurant, where the locals are is also where you get the best service. And now they're expanding across Europe, so they're definitely someone to talk to. Hainspoon, they're longtime partners of ours in both our own legal work. They're great supporters of us here at EUEC.

6:25And I definitely think that they are one of the go-to legal teams to have in your corner. CW Communications, our dear friends who helped us secure CNBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, and many more for this summer. It's a joy working with Dan and Kathy and the team. Fundcraft, Digital Native, Full Suite, Lux Headquarter, and a great partner as you grow your firm out of Luxembourg. Definitely a fund admin to consider in your stack. I can only say that the team are incredible to work with. I'm very thankful that I've gotten to know them. I think They're one of the up and coming fund admins that you want to be thinking about.

7:01Portfolio IQ by Synaptic. You may know them for the Discover tool, which is branded under Synaptic. But Portfolio IQ is absolutely a product you should know because there's no one that understands intelligence better than this team. And finally, Goodwin. They are a truly world class legal partner. You can trust their hands on, business oriented and expert in everything and anything transatlantic. So those were our partners for the summit and awards. I know this might've been a bit long and boring, but really, if you have these guys on your side, I don't think your firm could be in any better hands.

7:35And also they're helping us do what we're doing every day for you.